The BCF Manager palette

Command	Path
BCF Manager	Window > Palettes > Web Palettes

BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) is an international open standard available in almost all BIM software tools. It allows collaborators using different software to communicate with each other and manage model-based issues.

Issues, proposals, and change requests are listed in the BCF file and linked to specific objects in the BIM model. The BCF file only contains comments; it does not modify the model. It can be used to navigate to issues in the model, respond to comments, create snapshots, assign issues, and resolve issues.

The BCF Manager palette allows file-based BIM collaboration, as well as collaboration using online services.

To manage BIM issues with the BCF Manager palette:

Open the Vectorworks file that is associated or will become associated with the BCF file.

Select the command.

The BCF Manager palette opens.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
New	Creates a new BCF file that is associated with the current Vectorworks file, automatically clearing any displayed BCF information. If there are unsaved changes, you're prompted to save them first.
Open	Opens a dialog box to locate and open a BCF file related to the project
Save	Opens the Save BCF File dialog box to name and save the current data as a .bcf file of the selected Version
Close	Closes the current BCF file, disconnects from any servers, and deletes all BCF data in the document
Connect	Opens the BCF Connect dialog box, to connect to a BIM collaboration service; see Connecting to a BIM collaboration service
Disconnect	If connected to a service and no data is being downloaded, disconnects from the connected service
Synchronize	If connected to a service and no data is being downloaded, updates the BCF project to the latest version from the server
Default View	Restores the drawing view to what it was the last time a BCF file was introduced to the document
Tooltip toggle	Shows or hides tooltips for the palette
Search box	Enter a search string to filter the list of issues; the search applies to all visible columns
Filter	Large projects can have long lists of issues. Click this button to open the Filter web dialog box, where you can specify which issues you want to work with. For example, you might want to list the issues assigned to you, or download the issues due on a certain date. Select the Document Filter option to filter the issues currently available in the document. If connected to a service, select the Server Filter option to filter the issues that will be downloaded from the server. (The Server Filter opens automatically when you download with the option Download issues from the project based on filter criteria selected.) Click the desired options and then click Filter again to close the dialog box.
Columns	Shows or hides columns on the issue list. Click to toggle the columns on or off, and then click Columns again to adjust the list. If needed, you can drag the column separators to change column sizes.
Issue list	The top pane of the palette lists issues for the project, filtered as specified. Issues are listed in the order they were created. To sort the list by one of the columns, click the column header. Click the header again to toggle the sort between ascending and descending order. If connected to a service, the Sync column shows the current status of each issue. See Connecting to a BIM collaboration service. Values in the Status, Type, Priority, and Phase columns can be edited; click the value to change and select the new value from the list that displays. Comments associated with the selected issue display below the issue list.
New	Opens the New Issue dialog box, for adding a BCF issue; see Creating and editing BCF issues
Edit	Opens the Edit Issue dialog box, for editing the currently selected issue; see Creating and editing BCF issues
Comments on Selected Issue	The pane below the issue list contains a list of comments associated with the selected issue. To sort the list by one of the columns, click the column header. Click the header again to toggle the sort between ascending and descending order. The full comment text and snapshot (if any) associated with the selected comment display below the comment list.
New	Opens the New Comment dialog box, for adding a comment; see Creating, editing, and deleting BCF comments
Edit	Opens the Edit Comment dialog box, to edit the selected comment; see Creating, editing, and deleting BCF comments. Only the author can edit a comment. You cannot edit someone else's comments.
Delete	Deletes the selected comment. Only the author can delete a comment. You cannot delete someone else's comments.
Columns toggle	Shows or hides columns on the comments list. Click to toggle the columns on or off, and then click Columns again to adjust the list. If needed, you can drag the column separators to change column sizes.
Full comment and snapshot for the selected comment	The bottom panes of the palette display the full text of the selected comment, and the snapshot saved with the comment, if any. Click the icon in the upper right corner of the image pane to toggle the image between scaled and full size . If multiple comments have images, click the left and right arrows to scroll to the other images. Double-click a snapshot image to switch the drawing view to match the snapshot. The related objects are selected, and the view is similar to the snapshot. If the view does not show the correct objects, select View > Zoom > Fit to Objects to zoom in on the selected objects. Alternatively, click Fit to Objects from the View bar.

Do one of the following:

Click New to start a new BCF file.

Click Open to open an existing BCF file.

Click Connect to log in to a BIM collaboration service and open an existing BCF project (see Connecting to a BIM collaboration service).

If data is displayed in the BCF palette when you introduce BCF data from a different source, you're automatically prompted with options for how to handle the existing and new data. See Merging issues into a project.

Update and add issues as described in Creating and editing BCF issues and Creating, editing, and deleting BCF comments.

To share your edits:

If you're doing file-based collaboration, save your edits and share the file with other collaborators.

If you're using a BIM collaboration service and you selected the option to upload issues automatically, the edits are available to other collaborators on the website immediately.

If you're using a BIM collaboration service and you opted to upload issues manually, click the upload button in the Sync column for each issue you want to upload.

Creating and editing BCF issues

To create or edit BCF issues:

In the Vectorworks file, select the object for which you want to create or edit an issue, comment, or change request.

From the BCF manager palette, click New, or select an issue and click Edit.

The New Issue or Edit Issue dialog box opens.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Issue Title	Enter a title that describes the issue or request
Creation Date	Displays the date that the issue was created
Creation Author	Displays the name of the person who created the issue
Modified Date	Displays the date that the issue was last modified
Modified Author	Displays the name of the person who last modified the issue
Assigned To	Select a person to address the issue or request
Due Date	Specifies the date for the issue to be addressed
Description	Enter more details about the issue if necessary
Status	Select an issue status; this can also be edited from the issue list
Type	Select an issue category; this can also be edited from the issue list
Priority	Rank the issue by selecting a priority; this can also be edited from the issue list
Phase	Indicate the stage of construction for the issue; this can also be edited from the issue list
Labels	Select one or more labels for the issue by clicking in the first column. A check mark in the column indicates that the label will be applied. Click again to deselect the label.
New	Opens the New Label dialog box; enter the name of a custom label to add to the list
Delete	Deletes the currently selected label

If you're not using a collaboration service, you can add custom items to the Assigned To, Status, Type, Priority, or Phase lists. To do so, select the Edit List option at the top of each list. The Edit List dialog box opens. To add a list entry, press Enter to go to the next line and type a new item; the custom entry becomes available for selection from the list.

If you're using a collaboration service, changes to these lists must be made from the service.

Creating, editing, and deleting BCF comments

A selected issue can include comments and snapshots from the project. Comments can only be edited or deleted by the author of the comment.

To add or edit a BCF comment:

From the BCF Manager palette, select an issue from the list.

Comments that are already associated with the selected issue display in the Comments on Selected Issue pane. Click New to create a comment, or select an existing comment and click Edit.

The New Comment or Edit Comment dialog box opens.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Snapshot	After you click Attach Snapshot, displays a snapshot of the current drawing view, which will display in the BCF Manager palette
Attach Snapshot	Attaches the current drawing view to the comment as a snapshot; this image displays in the bottom portion of the BCF Manager palette when the comment is selected
Comment	Enter or edit a comment about the issue
Store the selection of elements	For BCF version 2.1 and later, saves the current selection status of objects in the drawing along with the comment

To delete a comment, select it and click Delete.

Connecting to a BIM collaboration service

If you use a BIM collaboration service to manage BIM projects, set up the connection and sync data from the BCF Manager palette.

To connect to a BIM collaboration service:

From the BCF Manager palette, click Connect.

The BCF Connect dialog box opens.

Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Servers
Name	The name associated with the selected server Type
Type	Select a name from the list
URL	The URL of the web service
Log in	Connects to the specified web service
Projects	Once connected, lists the projects available to your account on the web service. Select the project you want to update.
Download from server	Select to download issues from the server into the document. Also select whether to download all issues, or download only the issues you specify on the Server Filter list in the Filter dialog box (described above).
Upload to server	Select to upload issues from the document to the project on the server. Also select whether to upload them automatically, or manually upload each issue via the upload button in the Sync column on the issue list.
Select	Connects to the specified project on the web service

Once connected, data is exchanged between the server and BCF palette as follows:

If only Download from server is selected, the issues from the server project are downloaded, clearing any existing issues in the palette.

If only Upload to server is selected, no issues are downloaded from the server. Issues in the BCF palette are uploaded automatically or manually, as specified.

If both the download and upload options are selected, issues from the server are first downloaded to the palette (updating any existing issues), and then issues are uploaded to the server automatically or manually, as specified.

The Sync column in the issues list indicates the status of each issue, and also allows you to manually upload issues and update issues that are out of sync with the server.

Edit the project issues and comments as described in Creating and editing BCF issues and Creating, editing, and deleting BCF comments.

Merging issues into a project

You can generate BCF files when you're checking a model with the Solibri Inside palette, or when you're performing an IDS validation with the Data Manager. These issues can then be merged into an existing BCF project.

While connected to a service

If you're connected to a BIM collaboration service project when you import a BCF file, an alert displays the following options.

Disconnect & replace issues: Terminates the connection to the service and replaces the issues currently in the palette with the issues from the file.

Combine & upload issues automatically: Combines the issues from the file with the issues in the palette, and uploads all issues to the server.

Combine & upload issues manually: Combines the issues from the file with the issues in the palette. Click the upload button in the Sync column to upload each issue not yet on the server.

While in file-based mode

If you're working with a local BCF file when you import a BCF file, an alert displays the following options.

Replace local issues: Replaces the issues currently in the palette with the issues from the file.

Combine with local issues: Combines the issues from the file with the issues in the palette.

Checking IFC models with Solibri

BIM management with IDS

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